JALANDHAR: The Rivalry between Chief Minister Beant Singh and All India Youth Congress president Maninderjit Singh Bitta intensified last week when Punjab PCC general secretary Ramesh Singla openly demanded the removal of Bitta for allegedly maligning the Chief Minister.
Addressing the Presshere, Singla, who was sacked as president of Punjab Youth Congress by Bitta but appointed general secretary incharge of the PCC front organizations by Beant Singh, warned Bitta to stop his tirade against the Chief Minister and said that otherwise his alleged patronage to criminals would be exposed. While remaining noncommittal about the authenticity of Shushil Sharma’s statement implicating him in the tandoor murder case, Singlaquipped, “Bittaand Sharma have been close associates in the past and there could have been ‘some dispute between them about Naina Sahni.” He denied allegations that Beant Singh had influenced Union Minister of State for Tourism Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder in granting Sharma the contract to run the restaurantinthe ITDC hotel where the deceased’s body was found. ‘Singla said he would soon lead a delegation of Youth Congress activists from the State to AICC president P.V. Narasimha Rao to press for Bitta’s ouster on charges of maligning the Chief Minister.
When told that Bitta always accepted Singh as his “political guru,” Singhla said it was just a presence. He said Bitta had been ungrateful about Singh’s contributions.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 21, 1995
